News Releases

(Boston. Mass. - Nov. 1, 2010) - EPA has proposed that a concrete manufacturing plant in Pawtucket, RI, pay a penalty of up to $177,500 for illegally discharging stormwater and process water in violation of the federal Clean Water Act.

According to EPA’s New England office, PRM Concrete Corporation violated the Clean Water Act by discharging stormwater and process water to municipal catch basins and to the Seekonk River without the required authorization under a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit. The violations at PRM occurred from October 2005 through August 2008.

Specifically, the company:
• discharged stormwater associated with industrial activity, without authorization, from October 2005 until August 2008;
• discharged process water, without authorization, from October 2005 until May 2007; and
• failed to file for permit coverage for the stormwater discharges from its facility until August 2008.

The complaint grew out of an inspection of the School Street plant on May 14, 2007. PRM informed EPA towards of the end of September that it had ceased operations.

“Stormwater runoff from industry often carries sediment, debris and other pollutants into nearby waterways,” said Curt Spalding, regional administrator of EPA’s New England office. “It is everyone’s responsibility to protecting our waters and it is up to industry to assess the adequacy of their own stormwater controls.”

The Clean Water Act requires that many industrial operations, such as ready-mix concrete plants, obtain discharge permits and implement controls to prevent the facilities from discharging pollutants into nearby waterways through stormwater runoff. Each site must develop and maintain a stormwater pollution prevention plan to put in place these practices. Without controls, contaminated stormwater runoff flowing from these sites contributes to degraded water quality that can harm or kill fish and wildlife, and leave the water unhealthy for swimming, fishing and drinking.